Those who know me might be surprised to hear that I occasionally listen to Rush Limbaugh. Not much—maybe 15 minutes at a time, every month or so. It’s certainly not because I find him enlightening or entertaining. I think he’s an arrogant, ignorant, blow-hard waste of space, to be frank. But this post isn’t necessarily about him. It’s about what people miss when they engage in simple-minded thinking similar to his.

Recently he was mocking a Diane Sawyer segment wherein she praised the Japanese for finding time and space to utilize recycling programs in the refugee shelters amidst the mass destruction that the earthquake and tsunamis have caused. He compared their conservation efforts to “spitting into a fire”, i.e. a completely ineffective strategy to improve the situation, or a distraction from more important things even.

He seemed amused that Japan, renowned for producing the greenest cars and being extra conscientious in their efforts to consume energy and natural resources carefully, possibly saw decades of environmentally friendly practices undone in one quick series of disasters. What a waste, right? What’s the point of even bothering to be Earth-friendly when a single volcano explosion or a single tsunami can wreak so much environmental damage?

Later in the day I encountered a story about the utter lack of looting, violence, and chaos that typically accompanies natural disasters like this (think back to when that hurricane devastated New Orleans, for instance). Despite their dire straits, the Japanese people were showing remarkable civility. What is it about their approach to life that could show the rest of the world such an example of restraint and disciplined organization under the very worst of circumstances?

I think there’s a direct link between the mentality that yielded recycling programs in the refugee camps and the mentality that keeps the populace unified and civil under stress. If you look at the United States, for contrast, we’re unfortunately renowned for rampant and indiscriminate consumption. We consume far more energy and natural resources than we should, and the idea of changing that position is a low priority for some and is openly mocked by others.

If we make a stronger effort to more carefully use the resources of the planet and be better stewards over the environment, I’m confident we’ll see a marked improvement in society as a result. Simple-minded, knee-jerk thinking obscures the nuances that need to be understood in order to make this world a better place.